Increasing use of ozone in treatment of water in swimming pools, spas, whirlpool bath facilities, and other applications has lead to a need for greater flexibility and more efficient methods and devices for use and installation of equipment used to inject ozone and other chemicals, such as chlorine, into water or other fluids being treated. This is particularly true for those situations and applications wherein an ozone or chlorine related treatment capability is being added as a retrofit to existing plumbing associated with aforementioned pools, spas, bathing facilities, or other applications.
It has become a relatively common practice to generate chlorine, for use in swimming pools, spas, and other water treatment applications by electrolysis of a solution containing a chlorine salt. In conventional practice, common salt (NaCl) is dissolved in pool or spa water. An electrolysis cell, sometimes called a salt chlorine generator, or simply “salt generator,” may be installed in series with a pump and filter in a main line water circulation loop and used to electrolyze pool water to generate free chlorine from the brine solution. However, this entails cutting the water line, typically just before the water is returned to the pool from the pump, filter and perhaps other devices, in order to prevent the newly chlorinated water from passing through such devices and possibly damaging them. After the water line is cut, the salt generator is installed and the water line spliced or otherwise attached to the salt generator so that the pool (or spa) water flows through the salt generator before being returned to the pool. This is a relatively laborious process that can involve the use of various tools, and in some instances the use of potentially harmful glues, which also raise the possibility of having leaks after installation if the gluing process is improperly done. In other instances a size of the water line may be different from a size of an inlet and outlet of the salt generator, which requires locating and installing adapters and bushings in order to complete the installation. In other instances it is necessary to drain the pool down to the level of the return pipe of the pool in order to perform the installation. As such, there is a need for methods and apparatuses for efficiently and adaptably installing water sanitizing devices, such as chlorine generators, and other devices such as mixers, in an existing water line such as a return line or other line to or from a swimming pool, spa or the like, without having to completely cut the line.